Alisa Key August 16, 2010 AP English 11 The Scarlet Letter The progression of Hester throughout The Scarlet Letter was dramatic and varied greatly. In the beginning of the book she was feeling ashamed, isolated, and shunned by the townspeople. To her, the “A” stood for more than adultery, it stood for “ashamed.” She was being imprisoned by the judgment of others; the lock was a simple scarlet letter. She was living while being haunted by her past. Even seeing her own daughter, Pearl, would sometimes bring up the emotion of her sin all over again.
The Scarlet Letter In a time where evil was believed to lurk amongst the puritan colonies, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Author of “The Scarlet Letter” discusses religious mind sets and prosecutions of the convicted sinners. The depth and complexities discussed in this historical fiction fulfills William Faulkner’s definition of a writer’s purpose. The writer has a responsibility which through Hester he shows the intensity of her experiences that she endeavored. William Faulkner delivered a classic speech upon receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature. Faulkner’s perspective on a writer’s responsibility should portray “love and honor and pity and pride and sacrifice”.
The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne and published in 1850, was just what America was needing in his time. He composed a both beautiful and tragic story while still creating a deep symbolic novel that few could forget. He captivated his readers with his allegorical novel, depending on symbolism and characters heavily, in the style of true dark romanticism. The novel deals with many issues that were prominent at the time, such as the importance of society versus nature, human temptation versus society’s influence, and many others. In Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter, he focuses on the conflicting views of society and nature in the Puritan society and uses contrast, symbolism, and imagery to convey his beliefs.
Pearl is a sort of living version of her mother’s scarlet letter. Like the letter, she is something that stands out in society by being an uncommon child. Yet, even as a reminder of Hester’s sin, Pearl is more than a mere punishment to her mother: she is also a blessing. She represents not only sin, but also the vital spirit of that sin. Thus, Pearl’s existence gives her mother reason to live, bolstering her spirits when she is tempted to give up; acting as a hero who constantly saves her mother from the tortures of Puritan society.
The Scarlet Letter In the passage of the scarlet letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, we see the narrator doesn’t have the same attitude or views of the community. The harsh judgment Hester Prynne receives from the wives is predictable. Hawthorne’s diction in the narration reveals a tone of sympathy, while the words of the women scorn Mistress Prynne. The women who stood outside the prison door commenting on Hester Prynne punishment are described to be goodwives of a puritan community. The first woman to speak is a “hard featured dame of fifty”, she believes the good mature women of the church should have a say in the sentence of the mistress for they are wives, and will punish correctly.
“Wherefore not; since all the powers of nature call so earnestly for the confession of sin, that these black weeds have sprung up out of a buried heart, to make manifest an unspoken crime?” This quote from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter, represents the truth upheld by a person, and how it carries with them through eternity. Hawthorne captures the truth of reality and sin in The Scarlet Letter. By using many literary devices, he reveals the truth of the Scarlet Letter and the characters in his novel. Being a novel during the romantic period, Hawthorne makes many symbolic and archetypical references to the power of nature, and the supernatural. Hawthorne uses these archetypes and symbols in addition to light motifs to demonstrate
Then she is accepted back into the community by the women, and the shame is completely gone because she earned her integrity back. In the end she kisses Dimmesdale, her true love before he finally dies after Chillingworth, stopped keeping him alive watching him suffer. So we do not learn much about Hester before the scarlet letter but I think that she is a very intelligent and courageous woman to go thru what she went thru and think in both level four and five, while not succumbing to the temptation of having the scarlet letter removed on the spot, and instead earning her integrity
The scarlet letter is one of the main symbols Hawthorne uses in the novel. The scarlet letter is an A, which stands for “adultery.” Hester wears this letter on her breast as a reminder of her sin. The letter is mentioned numerous times throughout the novel because it is a constant reminder to all the characters of what Hester had done. Hester feels guilty while she wears the scarlet letter because she knows she committed an immoral sin, and the townspeople scorn her for it. Reverend Dimmesdale also wears in A on his chest, since he too was a part of this sin.
John Procter and Abigail Williams’ sin was the same adulterous sin as Hester’s in The Scarlet Letter. Both sins of adultery, both in a puritan society, but the outcome of redemption turned out very different. In “The Crucible” the strive for redemption was more between John and Abigail, not John and the town, or Abigail and the town. John Procter, a married man, committed adultery with Abigail Williams, a young woman. Abigail Lusted for
Through the novel, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the reader learns that the Puritan religion looks down on sinning and punishes sinners harshly. Through several examples throughout the text, the reader can conclude that Hawthorne did not agree with the Puritans’ attitude toward sin. Hawthorne uses satire throughout the novel to make fun of the Puritan views. The main character of the novel is Hester Prynne, who is found cheating on her husband. As a result, she is forced to wear a sewn scarlet “A” on her clothing.